New camera phones catching on fast

• Pros say devices stand out — as conversation starters

By Beatrice E. Garcia
Knight Ridder News Service

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. With a crop of new camera phones, those photos can speak volumes.

And some of these wireless wonders let you send text and audio, too. A few phones even take and send short video clips.

But these photos aren't meant for posterity, says Roger Ettman, who follows the cellular phone market for the Yankee Group in Boston. "These are photos you share, not photos you keep."

Right now, the photos are postage-stamp size. For the phones available in the United States, the resolution is generally less than 1 megapixel, which is fine for e-mails and Web sites, not for fine photography.

Yet, advancements are hitting the market in rapid-fire progression.

Sony-Ericsson has produced a phone with a 1.3-megapixel camera that will be sold in Japan by NTT DoCoMo. J-Phone, a unit of Britain's Vodafone Group PLC, began selling a phone with a 1-megapixel camera this spring.

The phones are fun and they're catching on quickly.

Camera phones were introduced in the Far East and Europe. They began to show up in the United States late last year. Japanese and Europeans have readily latched onto the camera phones, and sales worldwide so far have been better than expected.

Analysts and carriers are looking toward camera phones to boost the bottom line. Sending photos means extra revenue because carriers are charging extra — either by the message or in bundled plans — for the data services.

Phones with integrated cameras and color screens are what drove an 18 percent jump in cell-phone sales during the first quarter to 112.7 million, according to the Web site for Gartner Inc., a Stamford, Conn., research firm.

Nokia, the Finnish cell-phone manufacturer, had a 35 percent market share. Its 3650 camera phone is one of the hottest sellers on the market.

Future Image Wire, a San Mateo, Calif., research firm dedicated to tracking the world of digital imaging, says that some 50 million camera phones will be sold this year worldwide. That's 50 percent more than the total sales of digital cameras that the firm forecasts for 2003.

Pros say devices stand out — as conversation starters

Two Miami Herald photographers, Chuck Fadely and Al Diaz, each tried out a camera phone. Here's what they had to say about these new gadgets:

Fadely spent a few days with the Sanyo 8100, offered by Sprint PCS.

Pros:

• Good battery life by digital camera standards.
• Small as the littlest digital cameras on the market.
• Great conversation starter.

Cons:

• Files are too small to make good prints.
• No flash; the process of getting photos into PC can be a bit slow.

Diaz tested the Nokia 3650, offered by AT&T Wireless and T-Mobile, even taking the phone on assignments. The Herald didn't print any of the photos he shot with the phone, but he did e-mail a few to family and friends.

Pros:

• Very user-friendly camera and phone.
• Fast and easy for transmitting e-mails with photo attachments.
• Fun novelty item, definitely an icebreaker.

Cons:

• Can't enlarge photos.
• Lens quality is low.
• Lightweight, but slightly larger than other camera phone models available now.